Participant's Guide: Creating the Fact Chronology

Creating the Fact Chronology

The fact chronology section of the transcript is represented as a table of ordered facts and time qualifiers. The facts are presented in approximate time order, and the time qualifiers clarify how the facts relate to each other chronologically. The questioned facts are identified as well.

Each fact comprises one "fact primitive". These fact primitives indicate actions and events. Sometimes, the fact is simple, and just indicates an actor and an action. Often, the fact indicates a "subject-verb-object" relationship, describing who did what to whom, or who did what to which object. Occasionally, the fact relates an actor to another fact.

Choosing Fact Primitives

The next step is to separate the scenario of the case into individual facts. For this task, you'll need to become familiar with the "fact primitives". The fact primitives are essentially verb phrases, that indicate the specific actions and events in the fact chronology.

You can review the full list of fact primitives directly, or access it through this site's Reference Shelf. You may wish to open up the list in a separate browser window while you create the fact chronology. To make it easier to search the list, the list of basic facts is categorized by type.

The ellipses (i.e, "…") found in the fact primitives indicate that an actor, object, or possibly another fact must "fill in the blank." One to three actors, objects, or facts are required by each fact primitive. For instance, "… <employs> …" requires two actors, one before "<employs>" to indicate the employer and one after "<employs>" to indicate the employee. An example of this fact primitive is: "Firm X <employs> Engineer A."

Selecting a fact in the list will cause a detailed description of that fact to display in the reference frame. The detailed description has several parts.

Event/State Type: The facts are categorized into three types to ensure that time qualifiers are used consistently. People might interpret the meaning and general duration of the same fact in different ways. For instance, the fact "Y <employs> X" could be viewed as a short duration event in which X begins employment with Y. It could also be viewed as X's "state" of employment, something that would probably persist over a long period of time.; Therefore, the facts have an explicit categorization that enables you to be more precise when defining the time relations between different facts. For example, if you think of "Y <employs> X" as being a long-term state, then subsequent facts such as "X <designs> Building" can be viewed as occurring during "Y <employs> X". If you were to think of "Y <employs> X" as being a short-term "starting" event, then you might view "X <designs> Building" as occurring after the conclusion of "Y <employs> X". This is an important difference in time sequence.; It is important that you check to make sure your interpretation of the duration of each fact you use matches that in the code representation.
Description: The description provides instruction on specific situations that should be described by this fact primitive. If the situation you are attempting to describe does not match the description of the primitive, search for a more appropriate one.; If a primitive has optional clauses, their usage is also described.
Hint: Some fact primitives have hints that further delineate their usage. If another, more specific or more general fact would be more appropriate, the hint will indicate this.
Inverse Form: This indicates another form of the primitive that you can use if you wish to transpose the order of the actors, objects, or facts that surround the fact primitive. For instance, "… <employs> …" can also be phrased as "(… <is employed by> …)." The inverse form may provide natural phrasing in your fact chronology.
Plural Form: Since the fact primitives are essentially verb phrases, the conjugation of the verb may be different if any of the actors/objects/facts are plural. This form shows the primitive is different for that case.
Negative Form: This form is simply the logical negation of the primitive, for when you want to indicate the exact opposite situation to that represented by the primitive.
Inv.-Neg. Form: The Inverse Negative form is the logical negation of the inverse form.
Neg.-Plural Form: The Negative Plural form is the logical negation of the plural form.
References: Most (but not all) of the fact primitives are followed by numbers in parentheses (e.g. "58-1 [1]," "92-6 [1]"). These numbers are cross-references to specific transcriptions in the Examples that use the primitive. For instance, the number "58-1 [1]" following "… employs …" means that line number 1 of the fact sequence of Case 58-1 contains the "employs" fact primitive. Use the cross-references as a way to examine and verify specific usage of facts.

To choose the fact primitives for the chronology, go through the facts of the case, pick out actions in the scenario, and match fact primitives to them. The goal is to represent the important events in the case as accurately as possible, given the limited set of event primitives, actors, and objects. Sometimes, you may not be able to be completely accurate, but do the best you can.

Once again, the facts of Case 83-1 are as follows.
You may also wish to refer to the full list of fact primitives during this exercise.

This part of the tutorial also begins the actual creation of the transcript. Copy the transcript template to a new document, and name that document "83-1.doc" or something similar. Open the file and enter "83-1" at the top next to the word "Case". Place the cursor in the first cell of the Fact Chronology table, and begin.

Engineer A worked for Engineer B. On November 15, 1982 Engineer B notified Engineer A that Engineer B was going to terminate Engineer A because of lack of work. Engineer A thereupon notified clients of Engineer B that Engineer A was planning to start another engineering firm and would appreciate being considered for future work. Meanwhile, Engineer A continued to work for Engineer B for several additional months after the November termination notice. During that period, Engineer B distributed a previously printed brochure listing Engineer A as one of Engineer B's key employees, and continued to use the previously printed brochure with Engineer A's name in it well after Engineer B did in fact terminate Engineer A.

The word "worked" is the key verb in the first sentence. Fact primitives relating to employment are at the top of the list. Primitives relating to starting employment are in the first sub-section. The primitive … <employs> … [<as> …] seems to be fairly close to the situation of this fact. It is a "state" primitive, and will properly represent a period of time during which some of the other events of this case occur. Select it in the list, and view the detailed information. Since the description matches this situation, search the forms of the primitive to see if one is close to the structure of this sentence. The inverse form, … <is employed by> …, matches the structure of the sentence.

Copy the fact primitive from the browser window (if you decide to type by hand, be sure to include the "angle braces", i.e., "<" and ">"), and paste it into the table as fact number 1. For readability, you may want to boldface the fact primitive text, as shown below. However, the boldface formatting is optional. Replace the ellipses in the primitive with the actors you identified, to create the fact,

        1. Engineer A <is employed by> Engineer B.

End your fact with a period.

Reading along, you can see that in most cases, the events are presented roughly in chronological order. The second sentence relates a fact that quite obviously occurs after fact one, Engineer B informing Engineer A that his employment will be terminated.

In the list of fact primitives, scroll down to the section that contains fact primitives dealing with "Informing of Termination of Employment". The second primitive in this section, "… <is informed of termination by> …" correctly relates the employer and employee. Note that this primitive is an "event". Again, copy the primitive and paste it into the table, then replace the ellipses with the actors Engineer A and Engineer B to make the second fact in the chronology.

        2. Engineer A <is informed of termination by> Engineer B.

The next sentence illustrates the situation of a single sentence containing two facts, one of which may not be immediately obvious. The most obvious fact related by this sentence is that Engineer A offers services to the clients of Engineer B. Since Engineer B has clients, and Engineer B's clients are central to the case, this is also fact worth noting, although it is not explicitly stated in its own sentence.

This also brings up another interesting issue. The fact that Engineer has clients obviously predates the termination notice, so when you enter this fact into the chronology, you will have to enter it before what is currently fact number two. This is not a problem. Place the cursor in fact number two, and select the menu command "Table > Insert Rows". The rows should automatically renumber themselves.

If we assume that Engineer B was hired at some point to provide engineering services for those clients, the most appropriate fact primitive is found in the section, "Starting Work with a Client," and since "… hires the services of … [as … | for …]" is the only primitive in this section, the primitive you want must be either that one, or an alternate form of it. You could say that

        2. Clients <hire the services of> Engineer B.

but since Engineers A and B are the primary actors in this case, it would be clearer to use the inverse form of the primitive, yielding

        2. Engineer B <is hired to provide services for> Clients.

followed by

        3. Engineer A <is informed of termination by> Engineer B.

which is now fact number three.

Don't forget to add the obvious fact,

        4. Engineer A <offers services to> Clients.

It is not always necessary, or even possible, to go through the facts of the case sentence by sentence, assigning fact primitives to every piece of information. First of all, some of the facts in the text of the case may not be fully relevant to the ethical dilemma. The next sentence of the case does not add any relevant factual information and does not need to be transcribed. It does add some information about the time relationships between some of the facts in the chronology. This information will come in handy soon.

The last and final sentence is so complex that it actually encompasses three major facts, and five facts total. We learn that Engineer B distributed a brochure, that Engineer A was eventually terminated, and Engineer B continued to distribute that brochure. Address the first fact first.

Sometimes, an ellipsis in a fact primitive is not filled by an actor or object, but by another fact. The next sentence of the case could possibly be represented as a complex relationship between Engineer B, a brochure, and the information contained within it. This complexity is not necessary, however, if you transcribe the information as a simple relationship of facts.

What did Engineer B do?: Engineer B distributed a brochure.
Why would Engineer B distribute a brochure?: To attract new business.
What's more important, the brochure itself, or the information contained within it?: The brochure is not described in any great detail, and is not as relevant to the case as idea that it lists Engineer A as a key employee.

When you replace an ellipsis with another fact, place the secondary fact in parentheses.

        5. Engineer B <advertises or solicits engineering business using>
           (Engineer A <is a key engineering employee of> Engineer B).

The next thing we know for sure is that Engineer A was eventually terminated.

        6. Engineer A <is terminated by> Engineer B.

The last piece of information in the case is that Engineer B continued to solicit new business using the same outdated brochure. Since the action is essentially the same as it was before Engineer A's termination, you can copy the earlier structure to create this new fact.

        7. Engineer B <advertises or solicits engineering business using>
           (Engineer A <is a key engineering employee of> Engineer B).

Multiple Objects, Actors, and Internal Facts

Sometimes it will be necessary to fill in the ellipses (i.e., "...") of a fact primitive with a conjunction of objects, actors, or other facts. If more than one object, actor, or other fact is required, connect the elements with a series of commas and the conjunction (i.e., "&") character. (Examples: 64-10 [4, 5, 6, 8], 58-1 [4, 5, 7], 72-4 [4], 77-11 [15, 16, 17])

Using Fact Modifiers

Some facts will need to have "modifiers" attached to them. These modifiers are optional but sometimes necessary to appropriately express a fact. For instance, if you needed to relate that Engineer A developed most of a proposal before being terminated, there is a fact primitive that expresses the development of a proposal, but a modifier is needed to express the incomplete nature of that proposal. The valid modifiers are:

partially, substantially: Use one of these two modifiers to express that the actor was responsible for a quantifiable portion of the fact that is either less than half or more than half, respectively. For instance, in Case 58-1 there is a fact "Engineer X <designs> {partially} Hydroelectric Plant", indicating that Engineer X did some portion, but not all and probably less than half, of the design.
limited, extensive: Use one of these two modifiers to express that the actor was responsible for a portion of the fact that cannot be expressed in a strictly quantifiable way. For instance, in Case 72-11 there is a fact "Engineer Doe <has experience in>{limited} Engineering Management," indicating that Doe has experience, but the experience is limited in nature.

Include the modifiers in "curly braces." For readability, you may want to use bold-italics text for the modifier, as shown above. However, the bold-italics formatting is optional.

Indicating Questioned Facts

After identifying the facts and listing them chronologically, you need to indicate which actions in the fact chronology are being questioned by the board. These facts will need to be marked in the fact chronology. (Examples: 75-3 [6], 77-11 [13, 14, 15, 17])

If you refer to the "Questions" section of Case 83-1, you can see that there are three questioned facts.

1. Was it ethical for Engineer A to notify clients of Engineer B that Engineer A was planning to start a firm and would appreciate being considered for future work while still in the employ of Engineer B?: This question refers fact number four, where Engineer A offers services to the clients. Add the text "[Questioned Fact 1]" to the table cell that holds fact #4. Surround the text in brackets. For readability, you may want to use italics for the questioned fact text, as shown above. However, the italics formatting is optional.
2. Was it ethical for Engineer B to distribute a brochure listing Engineer A as a key employee in view of the fact that Engineer B had given Engineer A a notice of termination?: This question refers fact number five, where Engineer B solicits business. Add the text "[Questioned Fact 2]" to the table cell that holds fact #5.
3. Was it ethical for Engineer B to distribute a brochure listing Engineer A as a key employee after Engineer A's actual termination?: This question refers fact number seven, where Engineer B continues to use the misleading brochure. Add the text "[Questioned Fact 3]" to the table cell that holds fact #7.

Choosing Time Qualifiers

Once you have identified the facts, you need to assign qualifiers to those facts, to clarify the time relationships between them. The Time Qualifiers are entered into the second column of the Fact Chronology table. Basically, each qualifier clarifies the the time relationship between the current fact, and the facts before it.

At this point, you should load the Time Qualifiers list into a new browser window for reference. Selecting a qualifier from the contents list will move the display to the section of the document that describes the usage of that qualifier.

The description of each qualifier has four parts that describe its use.

Intended Use: The first section describes in a general way the relationship that this qualifier is meant to express.
What We Know: The next section describes specifically what information we need to know about the time relationship between two facts in order to choose this qualifier. If you are not absolutely sure about the information in this section, another qualifier may be more appropriate.
What We Don't Necessarily Know: This section lists information that you may or may not have about the time relationship between two facts. If you do have one of these pieces of information, the qualifier shown after it may be more appropriate.
References: The last section contains links to examples that use this qualifier in the fact chronology. The number or numbers in brackets beside each case number show which facts in that case use this qualifier.

By double checking the information you have against all the parts of the description of a qualifier, you can make sure you are using the qualifier that most accurately represents the relationship.

Each fact in the chronology must have at least one time qualifier. Some facts may have more than one qualifier. Go through the facts of Case 83-1, and assign qualifiers to each fact.

The ellipses (i.e, "…") found in the time qualifiers indicate that a fact number or numbers must "fill in the blank." For example, if fact number five ends the state represented by fact number three, include the qualifier "Ends 3" next to line 5 of the fact chronology.

1. Engineer A <is employed by> Engineer B.: This state begins before any of the actions relevant to the case, and so earns the qualifier, "Pre-existing fact."
2. Engineer B <is hired to provide services for> Clients.: This state also begins before any of the relevant actions. Since it is immaterial whether the relationship with the clients begins before or after Engineer A's employment, simply use "Pre-existing fact" here as well.
3. Engineer A <is informed of termination by> Engineer B.: This event obviously occurs after the start of A's employment, but since we don't know exactly how long, use the qualifier, "After the start of 1."
4. Engineer A <offers services to> Clients.: The case informs us that it is materially important that this event occurs during A's employment, and while these clients were still clients of B. Therefore, you must use the qualifier, "Occurs during 1, 2."; Since you also know that this did not happen until after A was informed of his pending termination, you also need to include, "After the conclusion of 3."
5. Engineer B <advertises or solicits engineering business using> (Engineer A <is a key engineering employee of> Engineer B).: It is not only relevant that this event occurs during facts one and two, necessitating the qualifier "Occurs during 1, 2", but that the solicitation occurs after B has informed A of A's impending termination, so you must include the qualifier "After the conclusion of 3."
6. Engineer A <is terminated by> Engineer B.: It is explicitly stated that this event occurs "for several additional months after the November termination notice," and so rather than use the generic "After the conclusion of 3," qualifier, use the more specific "Several months after the conclusion of 3."; Also, if you check the representation for this fact primitive, you will see that it is an event that typically terminates. Even if you don't check, it should be obvious that this event ends fact number one, so include the qualifier "Ends 1."
7. Engineer B <advertises or solicits engineering business using> (Engineer A <is a key engineering employee of> Engineer B).: Since it is most relevant that this even occurs after A's actual termination, include the qualifier, "After the conclusion of 6."

You have now completed the fact chronology section of your transcript.

Before you continue, you should save your transcript file (the Microsoft Word document).

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